Thursday, April 30, 1998
Swayze gets back in driver’s seat with action thriller
FILM: Star overcomes difficulty of broken legs, returns to work
on adventure-laden ‘Black Dog’
By Lonnie Harris
Daily Bruin Contributor
Forever searching for new and different types of films, Patrick
Swayze has a career that could be called diverse at best. He has
starred in his share of dramatic roles (such as the 1990
blockbuster "Ghost"), comedies (including the outlandish drag-queen
saga "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar") and, of
course, a film all about dirty dancing.
But his latest project and return to the screen, after breaking
both legs in a horse-riding accident last year, will put him back
in the saddle in a Hollywood action movie.
In "Black Dog," director Kevin Hooks follows the most successful
formula in Hollywood history – find a likable hero, toss in a few
gun-toting terrorists, add a zany bad guy and a few explosive
stunts, and stir.
Swayze portrays Jack Crews, a down-on-his-luck ex-con who needs
to make some cash to save his family’s home. Enter the bad guy
(Meatloaf), an arms dealer who will pay Crews $10,000 to drive a
load of illegal artillery from Georgia to New Jersey. Now Crews and
friend Earl (Randy Travis) must transport the guns while under fire
from both Meatloaf and the Feds (of course there are Feds),
exploding other vehicles all the way.
All the explosions and action sequences were not easy to film.
While filming the opening sequence, three crew members were
severely injured by a pyrotechnic effect which backfired.
"The three people involved in the accident were two effects
people and a prop man," Hooks says. "This was a situation where we
didn’t know if these people were going to live, so it was very
day-to-day and extremely stressful. It was a hard film to make, and
to have that happen just took the wind out of everybody’s
sail."
Swayze, too, had to be careful while performing some of his
stunts, especially since he was nursing an injury sustained last
year while filming the independent film, "Letters From A Killer."
The actor had been filming a scene in which he maneuvered a horse
through a patch of oak trees. The horse threw him off and right
into a tree, which broke both of his legs.
"I had to deal with a great deal of pain in order to pull a big
action movie off," Swayze says. "There were a lot of things I had
to deal with. No. 1, not reinjure myself. Norman Cousins wrote a
book about how he cured himself of cancer. He discovered that five
minutes of pure belly laughter allowed him to sleep without pain
for the rest of the night. I live from that theory."
"Black Dog," in addition to including all of these stunt
sequences and special effects, also brings two major figures from
the music industry to the big screen. The film marks the first big
role for country singer Randy Travis as well as the appearance of
rock singer Meatloaf, known mainly in the film world for his work
in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
Travis, who had never acted before his music career took off in
the ’80s, has a fairly laid-back attitude toward acting in
film.
"You do what you are, who you are," Travis says. "What you see
is what you get. When you see me onstage, that’s pretty much what I
am off-stage."
Meatloaf also adjusted to film work with a fair amount of ease.
He had worked in several other acting projects when he was singing,
including the New York Shakespeare Festival and several films
(including Steve Martin’s "Leap of Faith"). With both of these
acting newcomers taking on roles in the movie, was there a chance
that Swayze might have felt a little threatened?
"When I first saw the finished movie, I was asking myself, ‘How
dare (Randy Travis), a country singer, come into this movie and
walk with the movie with one of the most charming characters and
performances I’ve seen in awhile,’" Swayze says. "He really does a
wonderful job. So does Meatloaf. People don’t realize that he’s a
very accomplished actor."
As for the future of Swayze’s acting career, he has quite a few
projects in the works. Now that his legs are healed, he’s making a
dance movie called "Without a Word" along with his wife Lisa Niemi.
He does wish to continue making action movies, however, only those
that meet with his strict action movie guidelines. "Black Dog"
apparently fits right into that formula.
"I don’t do many action movies merely because it’s hard to find
action movies that fit my standard," Swayze says. "Not gratuitous
violence, not just blood and guts, and some level of opportunity
for a performance."
FILM: "Black Dog" opens Friday.
Universal
Patrick Swayze stars as Jack Crews, an ex-con who is duped into
driving a truck loaded with illegal weapons from Georgia to New
Jersey, in the action film "Black Dog."
Universal
Meatloaf stars as boss-man Red in Hollywood’s latest adventure
movie, "Black Dog."